


None of that Hasbro stuff.

by redboard



Series: Gotham Ghost Stories [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: ASMR Tim Drake, Halloween Special Episode, Ouija Boards, Rituals, Sibling Bonding, shout out to my boys at headspace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 15:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21199598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redboard/pseuds/redboard
Summary: The one where the gang performs a seance for fun.





	None of that Hasbro stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> This story can be read on it’s own, the original GGS was written like a year ago and it’s just referenced a little bit but it IS a sequel.

The camera showed the scene of a dark, empty cave; several stalactites dripping down into the shot. It was focused on a round table set up directly in front of it, four chairs sat empty, neatly pushed against the table. The only source of light in the room came from several differently sized candles strewn about the space. The flames flickered a few times with an invisible air current.

There eventually came the sound of voices from behind the camera, becoming increasingly clearer. “Can't believe we're doing this again,” a rough deadpan complained.

Someone different replied, “Why not? It’s fun! Don’t wait for me, go take a seat, I have to finish setting this up.” 

The camera wobbled in place, going in and out of focus as Red Hood entered the shot, holding his helmet under his arm, he looked at the chairs with resignation and dragged one out, slumping into it.

“Just don't see why this has become a yearly thing. Its a waste of time. Bet the big bats not happy about it.”

“Well, What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, I promised Batgirl and Black Bat that I’d include them the next time. They just wouldn't let me forget about it, you should see the state of my inbox.”

“‘S got nothing to do with me.” Red Hood mumbled.

“Sorry were late!” said a new voice behind the camera, warm with cheer and excitement. 

“Speak of the devil,” said the first voice, just audible enough to get picked up by the camera. “Hey, guys! Its fine, the later the better, take a seat.”

“Hood,” Batgirl greeted the other vigilante, entering the shot hand in hand with Black Bat, who simply gave him an amused smile.

“Sup blondie. Gonna be up to your tricks again this time?”

Batgirl rested her elbows on top of the table and linked her fingers together, she gave him a sharp grin. “I'm here to get results, zombie man.”

“Must respect the spirits.” Black Bat spoke up for the first time, not looking at anyone in particular.

“You believe in this stuff, BB?” Batgirl said wide eyed.

Red Hood sat up straighter, narrowing his eyes with suspicion. “You're shitting me.”

Black Bat looked from one to another with the same smile she had been sporting the same time, though she looked confused, as if something had gotten lost in translation.

“Well I believe in solid evidence, and that's what we're here for tonight,” said Red Robin, finally entering the shot and taking the last chair available, between Red Hood and Batgirl. He put the satchel hed come in with on the floor and bent towards it, out of view behind the tablecloth.

“Hey, hold up,” said Red Hood, looking around as if he’d missed something. “That’s it? It’s just us? What happened to the golden boy and his tail?”

“Duh! There's only four chairs. It's kind of obvious, it's just us.”

“Want a fight, blondie? Cause I'll give you one.”

Batgirl stuck out her tongue as a response. Red Robin’s head poked up from behind the table to look at Red Hood. “Nightwing made some excuse about having something else to do, Robin’s in Kansas. Baby’s first trick or treat.”

“RIP. Kansas,” said Stephanie, making a cross motion with her hand.

“Well said,” Tim nodded.

“Wait a minute, you can just make an excuse not to be here? Im out.” Red Hood made to get up but Red Robin reached out a hand to grasp his leather jacket, the reflex was fast, paling only to Black Bat who had done the exact same thing.

“Come on, Ill do your helmet a whole system revamp.”

“Like you always say you'll do and then never do?”

“What can I say, I’m a busy man,” he cringed. “But after this, I swear you’re priority number one,” Red Robin said, tilting his head to the side he added “Please?”

To the other side of Red Hood, Black Bat had mirrored the motion and also asked “Please?”

Red Hood looked from one to the other and sat back down defeated. Red Robin and Black Bat grinned and high fived each other over the table. “Jesus, are you sure you guys aren't related? Sometimes you act like twins and its fucking freaky.”

Batgirl shivered “God, don't even say that, I don’t know what that would mean for my psyche.” Red Robin pulled a face at her and she grimaced.

“Probably gotta get that head checked anyways, blondie.”

“After you, zombie.”

“Well  _ I _ wouldn't mind being Black Bats twin,” said Red Robin, returning to his task. He pulled out an ornate box, placed it on the table and stuck a long stick on it. “Lighter please.”

“Robin is, the little brother.” Black Bat said with a smile, watching intently as Red Hood passed Red Robin a lighter, which he used to light up the incense.

“It’s Red Robin now.”

“But youre so little, always little Robin.”

Red Robin smiled back at her and said “And you’re a very scary Batman.”

“Gosh, you guys are so cute,” Batgirl gushed.

“Yeah yeah, lets get on with it people,” sighed Red Hood losing his patience.

“Alright, alright.” Red Robin said, waving his hands over the incense before moving it aside, “I have once more prepared several things we can try to prove or disprove the existence of otherworldly beings such as ghosts.” He put down a square board up on the table, making sure it was properly aligned. He glared at Batgirl as she giggled and sat back to look at the other three.

“You're so resourceful for useless shit like this it turns out.”

“I'm always resourceful. Anyways, this,” he revealed with a flourish, “is a spirit board.”

“You mean a Ouija board?” Asked Batgirl with an arched eyebrow.

“No,” said Red Robin with the voice of a tired but patient teacher, “I mean a Spirit Board. It’s very old, it’s practically a historical artifact, so I wasn’t able to buy it.”

“Oh shit, did you steal this, Baby Bird?” Asked Red Hood with a feral grin.

“I, no of course not. I merely… borrowed it for the nights purposes,” this admission made the Red Hood bark out a thunderous laugh. “I don’t mean to keep it. It’ll be back in its place before they know it. Besides I wanted it to be an authentic one, none of the Hasbro stuff.”

Batgirl flipped the board to the side to read the inscription on the back “It says here ‘OH’... was this made in fucking Ohio?” That garnered another hoot of laughter from Red Hood and she grinned at Tim as he snatched back the board to put it back in place.

“Well, this is as authentic as it gets,” he mumbled.

“Ok, let’s not get into a debate of the authenticity of Ohio. I’m not even sure that state exists.”

“I think it’s very nice,” Black Bat said, amused by their antics.

Batgirl turned to her “The state of Ohio or the spirit board?”

Black Bat thought about it for a moment. “Yes.”

“Alright you chucklefucks, you’re all very funny, let’s get this going.” Red Robin placed the planchette over the board, sliding it towards the upper middle. “Put your fingers on the planchette.”

One by one they each placed two fingers each on it, though it seemed a bit cramped.

“Here's how this goes. Well each ask one question, and wait for the spirit to talk through the board.  _ We _ won’t move the planchette, it must move on it’s own. We’re all fairly trained detectives, so we’ll know if there’s any funny business.” They all eyed each other for a few moments. “At no point can you lift your fingers, or else you’ll be  _ cursed _ , or so the myth goes. To finish the session we will all move to the word ‘Goodbye’.”

“Yeah, we know how Ouija boards work.”

“Alright, wise girl. Since you know so much why don’t you start.”

“And they say chivalry is dead…” mumbled Batgirl, then sat up straighter. “Alright, easy question. Are there any spirits here tonight?”

They looked intently at the planchette, watching as it trembled under their fingers, however it didn’t move.

“Well, that’s disappointing. No point in asking anything else, is there?”

“Maybe they didn’t care to answer that one because you think this is a Ouija board.”

“Bite me.”

“I’ll ask a question,” said Red Robin, ignoring Batgirl sticking her tongue out at him. “If there is anyone here would you mind telling us your name?”

They waited, but again the planchette didn’t move.

“Seriously…?” He sighed. “Hood your turn.”

“If I offer will you take me with you? I’ve been dead before and it wasn’t this boring.”

“Hood!”

Red Hood grinned at Red Robin, “I’m just joking, Baby Bird! It was equally bori—“ he stopped as the planchette moved, sliding quickly towards ‘No’. 

“Oh!”

“Alright, which one of you moved it?”

“I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Guess the ghosts don’t want you, iZombie.”

“Yeah, well then they’re missing out.”

“Hmm… It’s your turn Black Bat.”

“Any question?”

“Yes, any question you want.”

She thought about it for a moment. “Will Red Hood be joining us for Christmas dinner?”

“No, not at us, at the ghosts!” Batgirl laughed, and Black Bat smiled at her before turning towards Red Hood again.”

He rubbed his neck, not quite making eye contact. “That’s no fair…” The planchette movedto ‘Yes’.

“Ohhh! I have a question!” Exclaimed Batgirl shooting up her free hand into the air. “Will you all be staying over afterwards? I wanna watch some movies! It’s been a while since we did a sleepover.” She said this last part looking at Red Robin.

“Guys, this isn’t the time for that…” he said as the planchette crawled towards ‘No’ though it was having a bit of trouble reaching.

Black Bat seemed determined and completely focused on the board, as did Red Hood. Batgirl quickly joined them as the planchette quivered from side to side before finally resting back at ‘Yes’.

“Nice!” Batgirl and Black Bat high fived with their free hands.

“Alright, you’re not taking this seriously,” said Red Robin pouting. The planchette moved towards the bottom of the board.

“Aw, don’t be that way,” Batgirl said appeasingly.

“Course I’m not taking this seriously, I’m here against my will.”

The planchette reached the word goodbye and Red Robin removed his had. “Yeah, well, you could have made up an excuse like Nightwing did.” He gathered the board and put it away under the table.

The other three looked between each other, unsure what to say in the sudden gloom mood that had befallen them. 

“I didn’t know you cared about this stuff,” said Batgirl wide eyed.

“I don’t,” shrugged Red Robin, still hidden behind the table, fussing with the board. “I just thought it’d be fun to do this again.”

“We are having fun.” 

Red Robin straightened up slightly and looked at Black Bat. She sincerely returned his gaze.

He sighed. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I’m such a spoilsport.”

“Tell us something we don’t kno-OW!” He yelped, then glared at Batgirl who was frowning at him.

“It’s just, I put a lot of effort into this, I didn’t know if you were making fun of me for it.”

“I didn’t mean to,” said Black Bat. “I think it’s very nice.”

“Okay.”

“It’s kinda cool how you’re so 100% about everything you do. I wish I could do that,” said Batgirl leaning back, “I promise if we laugh it’s not at you. Just the absurdity of the situation.”

Red Robin smiled softly at her, “Yeah, it’s pretty funny.”

Black Bat and Batgirl both turned towards Red Hood, who was reclining his chair, arms crossed as he watched the conversation. “What? I’m not gonna get all sappy.”

“Maybe on Christmas,” said Black Bat.

Batgirl laughed, “A Christmas Miracle!”

“Whatever!” Red Hood glanced towards Red Robin. “And? Didn’t you say you had other stuff prepared? We don’t have all night.

Red Robin grinned at the other vigilante, “Yes, right. This time we'll be taking a less  _ scientific  _ approach to last time, were going to perform a seance.”

“Was the Ouija board scientific?”

“He meant the haunted hospital, obviously.”

“To start off easy, were going to hold hands,” he held both his hands out towards Red Hood and Batgirl, prompting the others to do the same. “This way we'll be making a circle of energy, a sort of portal of entry to welcome any ghost, spirit or paranormal entity.”

They all held hands over the table, though Red Hood was reluctant to do it, muttering it was stupid.

“You done lots of research on this?”

“Well, it turns out no one really agrees on a reason of why some actions are performed, as these are mostly coming from tradition.”

“Who would have thought that spirit mediums are a fickle bunch who don't want people to realize they are being scammed.”

“That aside,” Red Robin tugged at Red Hoods hand, “it makes sense in a way. Plus these sessions doubled as group therapy for some people, with the war and all; and they are practices that are still held in these kind of meetings.”

“Oh, rejoice Red Hood, free therapy. Just what the doctor ordered.”

“Yeah, if we end up fighting my own personal demons they're coming after all of you first.”

“Angsty. Such a bad boy.” Black Bat giggled, making Red Hood clamp his mouth shut, a faint flush growing underneath his domino mask.

“Anyways, i'll be acting as the medium in this session , as I am the more knowledgeable out of all of us here tonight.”

“Hey!” Batgirl complained, “I was Wiccan for like a month, you know? I have a shit ton of crystals.”

“Were gonna put a pin on that…” Tim murmured, shaking his head. “For now, I will lead you through a basic meditation process for us to synch up and relax.” He said, his voice becoming softer.

“Hell yeah, ASMR me, baby!” Batgirl goaded.

Red Robin flushed but otherwise chose to ignore her. “We'll be breathing four in, and six out. In through the nose,” Red Robin began, and they all indulged him in the exercise, “two, three, four. Out through the mouth, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Well do this a couple times. In through the nose,” they all breathed in in time, “and out through the mouth,” they exhaled, the thin line of smoke coming out of the incense wobbling with their breaths.

They repeated it a few times and visibly became more relaxed. “Let your eyes softly fall out of focus. Breathe normally,” Red Robin added before falling silent. They all sat quietly, holding each other's hands. The only sounds that disrupted the quiet were the chirping of bats in the distance and the dripping of water coming from one of the stalactites. 

“Alright, now that we're all nice and relaxed we can begin,” Red Robin said after a few minutes had passed, and both Red Hood and Batgirl twitched.

“Damn Red, you're good.”

“Yeah, you should get him to do it after patrol,” Batgirl said, cracking her neck, “best night sleep ever.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

“I am right here.”

“And we thank you for your service,” Batgirl nodded at him solemnly, then turned towards Black Back. “What did you think, BB?”

“Peaceful. Better than computers.”

“If I'm better at meditating than I am at computers then something deeply wrong.”

Black Bat shrugged.

“What next?”

“Next we can call out the spirits, welcome them to join our session any time. Close your eyes.”

“Ohh, are you gonna say some incantations?”

“Yes, and its embarrassing so I don't want you to look at me, now close your eyes.”

They laughed, but obliged.

“Spirits, we welcome you unto our circle with open arms. We mean you no harm, we simply wish to speak to those in the great beyond, searching for wisdom. If you wish to communicate with us, please do so. Alright, open your eyes.”

“Amen,” said Batgirl.

“Really Red? ‘The Great Beyond’?”

“He’s a theater kid at heart.”

“Never say that about me ever again. I’m just covering my bases.”

“Alright, alright. I promise not to say it in front of you.”

“That's all I can ask for.”

“So,” Black Bat chimed in, her head tilted to the side, “spirits come talk to us now?”

“Its so weird how into this you are, BB.”

“Basically, yeah. They can manifest themselves in different ways. Rapping on the wood, knocking things down… Usually a seance session consists of only this but,”

A sudden clanging grabbed their attention from the conversation. A candle a few feet away from the table had been knocked down.

“I think the ghosts are telling you to stop being a nerd.”

“Yeah, you would know.”

“Is there any spirits present?”

“There’s no spirits, it was probably just the wind.”

“Really, Hood? The wind? If it had been the wind we would have felt it.”

“Besides we’re surrounded with candles, if it had been the wind they would have been snuffed.”

A second candle fell, this time across the other side, the sound coming from behind the camera.

“Uh, guys?”

“We ask questions now?”

“BB, seriously, seeing you be so serious about all this is probably the scariest thing happening right now and I think T—Red Robin just haunted all of our asses.”

“If… you have any questions you can go ahead and ask”

They all fell silent, giving Black Bat the space to speak.

“Ask them if they’re here?”

“I mean you can just ask— ok, uh. Spirits, are you here?” Red Robin asked, and after a moment he added, “Oh, uh, you can knock once for no, twice for yes.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Wha—What?”

“‘Are you here’ followed by yes or no answers? What do we do if they knock a ‘No’ to that question? We just go ‘oh, ok then’ and go on our merry way?”

“I mean I’m setting up the rules for all the next questions, it doesn’t have to answer no if they’re not here, I mean they couldn’t.”

“Shhh!!! Stop bickering I think I heard a knock?”

“One knock or two knocks, cause, again,”

“Shhhhhhhh!!!!!”

They waited.

“This is dumb.”

“Not with those vibes, my man.”

“What’s wrong with my vibes.”

“Nothing, just saying. If I were a ghost? I’d steer clear off your vibes.”

“Blondie you and I are gonna have words.”

“Why are you here?” Black Bat asked suddenly.

“Seriously, that’s so scary, BB” Batgirl hissed.

“You can’t ask them why they’re here, it has to be a yes or no question.”

“Oh.” Black Back hummed, deep in thought. “Can we help you?”

They waited silently.

“Do you want us to go?”

Suddenly, with a gust of wind all of the candles snuffed out, drawing the cave in complete darkness. All that was visible now was the white lenses in their masks and the blinking red light of the camera that showed it was still recording.

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

“We must go,” said Black Bat.

“What? Huh? What? Where are we going? Why are we going?”

“Let go of my hand!”

There were sounds of a scuffle as they all rushed out, knocking down chairs loudly, the sound reverberating in the cave.

The camera fell from its stand with a small crack, it’s only sign of life was the red blinking light.

Everything was quiet for a moment, then there was a dull thud. Between blinks of red light, the camera was lifted.

The last thing recorded was a pair of sharp white eyes coming into view directly in front of the camera.

“Hnh.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Didn’t think I’d be writing another one of these but I suddenly got the drive for it to write it. Hope you liked it. Batdad wasn’t amused.  
Happy Halloween, I don’t celebrate this.


End file.
